The Orbi system worked flawlessly for a year, strong Wi-Fi signal and fast connection throughout the house. Then it started repeatedly dropping Wi-Fi signal. Product support for Netgear is nonexistent, so I scoured the internet for solutions and tried system reboots, factory resets and firmware...

I got tired of using a wifi extender, and didn't want to go through the hassle of (learning to and) reconfiguring an old modem to function as an access point in my house. After looking at the Orbi, Google home, and Eero, I bought the Orbi. Took about 10 minutes to set up.

When it works, it works well. Unfortunately it is very inconsistent with iPhone devices and bandwidth appears to degrade over time. The devices require frequent reboots of the central and satellite device.

Bought this based on the rating - it is the worst wifi equipment I have ever owned and the least supported. Beware - go online to Orbi support groups to find out about how much maintenance this takes to work properly and that is if the firmware updates are done in the proper order for the...

Sometimes, no amount of prime router placement can get you decent Wi-Fi coverage throughout your house. Netgear isn't the first to try and solve this problem, but its new Orbi Wi-Fi system tackles it pretty handily.

Excellent coverage; Easy setup; Approachable design

Mighty pricey; Finicky Wi-Fi band settings

The Netgear Orbi is a new spin on the home Wi-Fi router, designed specifically to stretch Wi-Fi coverage further than any normal router can manage. It achieves this because it's essentially two routers in one, with the second unit acting like a glorified Wi-Fi extender.

Very fast speeds at long range; Easy setup; Consistent coverage; Much faster performance than Wi-Fi extenders; Single SSID makes managing connections easy

High upfront cost; Modest feature set for power users; Not the fastest router when in close range

In all, the Orbi is a smart system: we found it delivered rock-solid and stable Wi-Fi to our entire house. If you've struggled with poor Wi-Fi performance in the past, then this router could well be the answer.

Very easy to set up; Delivers great performance and coverage

Distinctly pricey; Doesn't currently support YouView streaming

Orbi might be the first mesh-based network to launch over here, but it's got some big competition across the pond. Eero has been out in the US for a while, and Google Wifi will arrive there in November.

Blistering wireless speeds; Great design; Incredibly simple setup

Beaten by much cheaper routers for everyday file transfers; QoS options are basic; Mobile app is horrific

Mesh networking is a bit of a buzzword at the moment, with the modular Eero system getting rave reviews earlier this year, and the recently announced Google Wifi getting in on the act too.

Set up was no problem, the Wifi worked and speed was good, however even with the firmware updates, the WiFi would just drop, logs didn't show any issues, in fact the logs showed no failure of broadband - this would happen quite often and no explaination- Put the old WiFi system back on and it worked...